Walking With Jesus - Talk 2
Special USA250 Opening Remarks and Prayer by US Naval Chaplin Jon Loveless
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Speaker Notes - Taking “First Steps” With Jesus
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4.1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
4 principles we can learn from jesus:
1 - accept that Testing is inevitable
2 - recognize what is behind our temptations (temptations are shortcuts)
3 - adopt Jesus’s responses
4 - turn toward Jesus right away
Walking with Jesus leads us to speak truth to temptation, knowing that Jesus understands and offers mercy.
Paul’s church: North River Community Church in Pembroke